As Poppy led them through the space port and out into the heart of the capital city of Marakaran, she led them into a floating pod that took them to their destination.
The streets were clean and broad with few hover pods as people seemed to prefer walking around. Everyone that they saw were well-dressed and tall. Everyone had the same silvery blonde hair as Ash himself, and everyone looked happy and peaceful.
The rumors were not wrong. This truly looked to be a paradise in the middle of an area of space that was roiling in conflict.
The hotel that they would be staying at was a sprawling complex that was a series of palatial buildings with a dozen tall towers topped with onion domes that were in a multitude of stripes and swirls in reds and greens, blues and pinks, yellows and oranges.
The gardens were sculpturally complex and artfully arranged, with stone statues of beautiful damsels and handsome muscular warriors in various poses of living their daily lives.
Some were carrying water vessels that splashed real water into basins below. Some carried stone baskets filled with real flowers growing in real dirt. Some were holding up tall trees with their hands.
And then there were other stone statues that were flirting, kissing, hugging. A few were even pushed up against the buildings looking as if they were copulating.
As they continued to walk through the grounds and buildings, Poppy pointed at a particularly large grassy area with a large white gazebo with flowering vines growing up and around the structure.
"That is such a beautiful spot for the ceremony!" Poppy pointed at the gazebo. "We could string lights and drape long white fabrics to make it looks dreamy!"
"Here, we can put huge pots of flowers," she pointed to a shaded section. "And we can also have little flower girls walk around, with baskets of flowers!"
As she walked with them, she continued to talk out the details. The more she walked and talked, the more Candace's eyes glazed over. She had no idea what was in Poppy's mind.
All Candace could think of was the sheer size of the place. The complex was so large that it looked like a grand palace!
There were more of the life-sized antique carved marble statues inside the palatial construction.
Ancient wall tapestries and oil paintings that looked as if they were worth a fortune were hung everywhere, singly and in clusters of uncurated collections.
The carpets on the floors looked so priceless, Candace was even afraid to walk on them! All around them were furniture and accent pieces on display that looked as if they belonged in a museum.
All of this, Candace took in with her discerning eye.
She was an archaeologist, a passionate student of antiquities. She could see the details that most people would miss about the age of a particular piece of furniture or a marble carving.
None of these things looked to be the kind of furniture or decoration that a resort would have, not even a high end luxurious one.
"Wow Poppy. Are you sure this is a hotel?" Candace breathed as she looked around at the lavish surroundings. "This looks more like a king's palace than a place where guests stay the night!"
"Oh no worries. Ash introduced me to the hotel management staff and they assured me that they had booked the entire place for your wedding."
"The—the entire place?" Candace gasped. "That's gotta be expensive!!!"
She looked around and pointed at one of the paintings on the wall. "That looks like an original masterpiece. It's really old! And look at the weathering on this marble statue! Take a look at that piece of furniture over there…"
Poppy clicked her tongue and waved her hand. "Tch. It's a super high end resort. They have good stuff!"
She pursed her lips. "Besides, all your husbands make so much money, they can afford to spend a little on your wedding. Right, brothers?"
She turned back and gave the men a thumbs up signal.
The brothers were walking behind her and all looked at each other with knowing glances.
Candace was far more astute than Poppy and had realized from just walking through that this was no mere hotel.
For Dante, it was very clearly a royal palace.
King Ashwyn's royal palace, to be exact.
"What do you think we're made of, money?" Dante threw a casual look at Poppy. "What kind of prices did the management staff say we had to pay?"
Poppy stuck her nose up in the air. "Whatever they ask for, you can absolutely pay it."
Dante raised an eyebrow causing Lucas' face to redden as he struggled to contain his laughter.
Byron raised a finger and was about to say something when Dante gave him a discrete wink. He and Lucas shot a warning glance at Byron who began chuffing into his hands.
As Crown Prince for so many years, one of Byron's jobs was to be a visiting government dignitary, and he had been at the Marakaran Palace before.
For Poppy to lead him back to it and proudly proclaim it to be some fancy hotel made him laugh. What in the world was the King of Marakaran up to?
Poppy smiled. "They told me they would give you a good discount, seeing this is your first marriage."
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
All the brothers roared with laughter, unable to contain their hilarity. As if Candace would allow any of them to have a second or third marriage.
Ash waved a hand, his eyes crinkling with mirth.
"Do not worry. I have connections with the owner of the place and he has assured me that prices will be very accommodating to ones such as yourselves."
Dante smiled. "Please pass along to the owner of the place, my heartfelt gratitude and thanks. Tell him I will make it up to him one of these days."
Ash nodded. "I have no doubt. Please enjoy your stay here, and congratulations again all of you, for your joyous marriage celebration."
Dante nodded with heartfelt appreciation. As the group continued through the palace grounds, he began planning various things in his head.
To stay at King Ashwyn's palace and to have their wedding held on the grounds of the royal kingdom was something that he had not originally planned on but it was absolutely perfect.
For Poppy to be able to pull this off was nothing short of a miracle, and one that he was grateful for.
Only the best for his Candace.